0139–3006/$ 20.00 © 2014 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Acta Alimentaria, Vol. 43 (1), pp. 113–123 (2014) DOI: 10.1556/AAlim.43.2014.1.12 BIOACTIVE DAIRY INGREDIENTS FOR FOOD AND NON-FOOD APPLICATIONS P.L. TAN a , K.K. PEH b , C.Y. GAN c and M.T. LIONG a * a School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang. Malaysia b School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang. Malaysia c Doping Control Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang. Malaysia (Received: 17 July 2012; accepted: 14 September, 2012) Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are most commonly encountered in the dairy industries, either existing naturally in milk or inoculated as starters in fermented dairy products. Recent research suggests that fermented dairy products are a cocktail of bioactive ingredients. The objective of our study was to evaluate the bioactivity of cell wall fractions of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium grown in reconstituted skimmed milk, and the possibility of intra- and extracellular extracts of these bacteria for applications in foods and beyond. Intracellular and extracellular extracts of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium showed inhibitory activities against food and dermal pathogens. All strains were able to produce inhibitors, such as organic acids, antimicrobial peptides, diacetyl, and hydrogen peroxide. Most strains showed higher production of extracellular than intracellular inhibitors (P<0.05). Meanwhile, all strains were able to produce hyaluronic acid, lipoteichoic acid, peptidoglycan, neutral sphingomyelinase and acid sphingomyelinase at concentrations applicable for cosmeceutical application. Findings from our study demonstrated that inhibitors and bioactives from lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have the potential to be developed into formulations for food and non-food applications. Keywords: lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, inhibitors, bioactives, cosmeceutical, foods Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are among the most common genera associated with probiotic properties, isolated from raw milk and fermented dairy products (FAO/WHO, 2006). These bacteria have been well documented for their gastrointestinal health benefits of a variety of fermented foods. In parallel, emerging clinical studies suggest that probiotics in foods might exert their benefits beyond the gut, extending to non-food applications, including cosmeceuticals. This motivates researchers alike to investigate the functionality and potential of these bacteria in foods and cosmeceutical applications. Milk provides nutrient rich medium for the growth of probiotics, thereby various inhibitors and bioactives are produced and subsequently accumulated in the growth medium upon milk fermentation. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium rapidly produce desirable inhibitors that exert strong antagonistic activity against food-borne pathogens, and thus widely applicable to food industries. These inhibitors include organic acids, antimicrobial peptides, diacetyl, and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). Organic acids have been used for decades as food additives for preventing food deterioration. Antimicrobial peptides have also received increasing attention as biopreservatives to inhibit competitive microflora, particularly in cheese. Furthermore, diacetyl and H 2 O 2 can also contribute to the overall antagonistic activity against food-borne pathogens. Meanwhile, current studies have postulated the use of inhibitors from lactobacilli and bifidobacteria beyond food applications. The beneficial effects derived from bioactives produced by these bacteria, such as hyaluronic acid (HA), * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone: +604 653 2114; fax: +604 657 3678; e-mail: mintze.liong@usm.my